Welcome to the Mr. Local History Project
“A 501c3 Non-Profit Dedicated to Preserving and Promoting Jersey History with a Social Twist”
The Mr. Local History Project is about bringing New Jersey’s past into the present through the stories of real places, real people, and real communities. Focused especially on New Jersey history, the project celebrates local history in a way that feels personal, engaging, and relevant, not something locked away in textbooks, but history that lives where we live. As we head into 2026, the 250th anniversary of the United States, Mr. Local History is turning history into a shared experience. With a social twist, this is about connecting online and in the community, sharing memories, spotlighting hometown stories, and honoring New Jersey’s outsized role in America’s founding. It is history you can explore, share, and be part of together.
Today in America’s History (We Update Every Day)
- 1775: The office that would later become the United States Post Office Department is established by the Second Continental Congress. Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania takes office as Postmaster General.
- 1788: New York ratifies the United States Constitution and becomes the 11th state of the United States.
- 1863: American Civil War: Morgan's Raid ends; At Salineville, Ohio, Confederate cavalry leader John Hunt Morgan and 360 of his volunteers are captured by Union forces.
- 1908: United States Attorney General Charles Joseph Bonaparte issues an order to immediately staff the Office of the Chief Examiner (later renamed the Federal Bureau of Investigation).
- 1947: Cold War: U.S. president Harry S. Truman signs the National Security Act of 1947 into United States law creating the Central Intelligence Agency, United States Department of Defense, United States Air Force, Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the United States National Security Council.
- 1948: U.S. president Harry S. Truman signs Executive Order 9981, desegregating the military of the United States.
- 2016: Hillary Clinton becomes the first female nominee for president of the United States by a major political party at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.
What Can You Do Today to Celebrate America’s 250th?
Our Readers’ Top 10 MLH Posts this Week
Latest Posts
A Tiny Roadside Cemetery in Basking Ridge
Views: 13 Just to the south of the former Millington quarry entrance on Stonehouse Road sits a tiny roadside cemetery that honors one of the original families of Basking Ridge. The plaque at the cemetery recognizes Daniel Vail and the…
The Wedding Heard Round the Colonies: Lord Stirling, Washington & New Jersey’s Most Famous Revolutionary War Wedding
Views: 294 Commemorating the 247th Anniversary of the Wedding Heard ‘Round the ColoniesJuly 27, 1779 – July 27, 2026 July 27, 1779Basking Ridge’s Biggest Event – Kitty Stirling’s Wedding On July 27, 1779, the Revolutionary War was entering one of…
MLH Development History Series
Views: 77 Every neighborhood, subdivision, shopping center, office park, and apartment complex has a story long before the first shovel ever touched the ground. The Development History Series explores how today’s communities came to be, tracing the land from its…
History of Housing Developments in Bernards Township
Views: 14,158 Bernards Township has a long history of being a sleepy rural town. Then, the US built the Lyons VA, and everything changed as the population grew. Then AT&T came to town in the 1970s, and everything AGAIN started…
Bernardsville’s Affordable Housing Dilemma – They’re Not Alone
Views: 229 While we at the Mr. Local History Project prefer to write about history and not try to make it, sometimes history and perspective from other areas serve as indicators of what not to do, or at least give…
Meandering Basking Ridge’s Largest Lake – The Millington Quarry
Views: 1,272 The Millington Quarry property in the Millington section of Bernards Township is one of the largest former industrial sites in Somerset County and has been the focus of redevelopment discussions for more than a decade. Covering approximately 180…
1717 John Harrison Purchases What Becomes Basking Ridge
Views: 209 For the first time ever, our readers can see and read the original 1717 deed in which John Harrison purchased the land that later became Basking Ridge, New Jersey. Researchers at the Mr. Local History Project are so…
Five Landowners That Owned Half of Somerset County, New Jersey
Views: 908 Maps are such a great source of history, and this 1766 map doesn’t disappoint those looking to learn more about Somerset County, New Jersey’s history. Completed in 1766 by surveyors Benjamin Morgan and Joseph Hills, the Morgan–Hills Map…
1766 Somerset County, New Jersey Map Tells So Many Stories
Views: 327 The 1766 Morgan–Hills Map of Somerset County Unlike most eighteenth-century maps that depict only towns and transportation routes, the Morgan–Hills map provides a remarkable snapshot of the county’s agricultural landscape by assigning numbered tracts to individual owners in…
Speaker Series: Sacking General Lee in Basking Ridge….But What if
Views: 846 What would have happened if General Charles Lee WASN’T captured in Basking Ridge?Join the Mr. Local History Project as we break down the history with this interesting conversation. America250 Update: Presentation – Sacking General Lee in Basking Ridge –…
Free Declaration of Independence & Constitution Booklet for Supporting MLH
Views: 236 Yes, it’s true, to celebrate America 250, we have a great gift for you from our friends and the New Jersey State Bar Foundation. Simply order anything from our fundraising gift shop or make a donation, then ask…
MLH Loves To See The Public Engaged….. The Latest Comments
Gary is one hell of man I had the opportunity to work for Gary for a short time when I…
Back in the 1930s, there was a fair-sized wooden box for the drop-off of bread at the entrance to the…
Preservation NJ named the site of the former Lord Stirling School as one of the state’s most endangered due to…
Thank you for this research. I grew up in The Hills on the Bedminster side, in an affordable unit (that…
Hi: Abraham Southard the son of Thomas and Annica Southard had no record of having been married. He left a…
What was the name of the restaurant that was destroyed by Sandy which was across the street from Keyport Fishery?
Yes, not sure how it got confused so we’ve updated the piece. How did you remember?
The Mount Prospect School shown in the picture was built in approximately 1998, not 1968. It was indeed named after…
Laird & Company in Colt’s Neck is considered America’s oldest distillery, renowned for producing Applejack and apple brandy. William Laird…
Our Summer 2026 Magazine is HERE!
Full of great local Jersey History to keep you on the edge of your history seat.
Special Edition – America’s 250th The SEMI-QUIN-CENTENNIAL is HERE!
See our special digital magazine. Full of great local Jersey History.
All Saints’ Episcopal Church in Millington was built from Millington Quarry trap rock, donated by Frederick Schmidt. Until the quarry…